Adding wheels to a Butcher Block table
RosaSharon
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hi all,
I have a Butcher block table in my Kitchen that I would like to add wheels to so that I can move it around easily. I have enclosed a picture of it below. Here are my concerns: The weight of the table. It is very heavy – my floor is wood. I am not sure what kind of wood, but my house is 100+ years old. It seems to be pine. If I put the table on wheels I am hoping it would not leave dents in the floor, so the wheels would have to be wide and soft enough to address this. What kind of wheels would you all recommend? Also, again because of the weight, would drilling into the tapered legs cause a splitting issue? If so, is there a cup model of wheels that would do be a better option?
Thanks in advance!
~Rosa
Replies
I will leave to others the exact type of wheel you need. Here are some of my thoughts. Since adding wheels will raise the height of the table you will probably want to cut off a portion of the legs to keep the top height the same as it is now. Splitting should not be an issue if you use the correct size drill bit for the bolts or screws. Also consider locking wheels so the table doesn't roll away when in use.
Here ya go. I wouldn't worry about splitting -- those are pretty beefy legs. You may need to shorten them to accomodate the casters, tho' -- depends on what work height you want.
http://tinyurl.com/3ah3gz
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I get wheels like that from here - http://www.rensup.com/
Great place, even if it's in a town called "Woonsocket".
Forrest
Great place, even if it's in a town called "Woonsocket"
You must have been watching the 'hit man' segment on 60 Minutes last night - Renovator's Supply is in Millers Falls, MA.
Bob
NH 03033 The Renovator's Supply Renovator's Old Mill Millers Falls, ... PO Box 278 39771 S.D. Hwy 34 Woonsocket, SD 57385 USA restoration@cabelas.com ...
I always get my stuff from Woonsocket.
'Cuz I like the name
Forrest
NH 03033 The Renovator's Supply Renovator's Old Mill Millers Falls, ... PO Box 278 39771 S.D. Hwy 34 Woonsocket, SD 57385 USA restoration@cabelas.com ...
Not to prolong the hijack, but I've gone 46 years thinking that the only Woonsocket was in RI, just a few miles from me. Go figure...
If it's in Woonsocket, it's Van Dyke's Restorers, a good outfit to do business with - far, far wider range of products than Renovators' Supply, which used to be better than it is now - just my 2 cents worth, & maybe worth exactly that...
You may run into some competing 'best' answers here.
Generally, a larger diameter wheel applies less pressure on the floor (nifty inverse square functions again).
But, the "stock" screw-into-leg or cup-and-fastener "casters" are not generally sized for proper butcher blocks. (The "furniture grade" casters can be surprisingly flimsy.)
But, 6" diameter silicone-tired casters might not pass "appearance" muster.
Might be an interesting question to pose of in Knots; might be a person or two who has built a butcher block on casters before.
Thanks to all for the well thought out responses! We took them all into consideration, and decided that retro-fitting that island might be too risky in that it would raise it up to be too high, ( I did not want to cut the legs because I really like the way they taper ), and it would probably make it too top heavy.
So I'm thinking the way to go is to just add some furniture gliders like Jayzog suggested ( Thanks, Jay!)
You guys really are an amazing wealth of information!
~Rosa
Yes, you would have had to cut legs the appropriate amt, but with locking wheels it would be no more unstable than it is now. A 2" approx wide rubber roller would leave no marks. A swivel would make it easy to move, and there are antigued finishes available.I believe there are even zero height lift casters made, but don't know if they can be had along with all the other options needed.Another option is similar to what some of us do with table saws that are pretty heavy and need to be stable -
You have the wheels on the outboard side of two legs mounted so they are just off the floor barely. Then when you lift the other end of the unit to get those two unwheeled legs up, the wheels come into contact and all four legs are free. You wheel it kind of like a wheelbarrrow, then set it down and all four legs are on the floor again, leaving you solid with no legs cut off.
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If your floor is close to smooth, forget the wheels and use furniture glides.
Even with gaps between the boards they work pretty well, and they only raise the height abot 3/8 ".
No mattter what wheels you get, they have to be immobilized for your work. Maybe plastic feet under the wheels -- whatever. My experience is not enjoying the thing moving while I was working on it.
I'd be careful about adding casters. I think it may make the heavy butcher block a little unstable. How big is the top?
Hi there - the island is 24x24. After debating about it with my husband this weekend, I think you are right there. :(
Locking swivel solid rubber casters is what you want. There are oodles of companies selling them online you can google up. All sorts of load capacities and finishes are available
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I'm going to break with the crowd some on this issue.
First of all, the table looks really top heavy; I'm afraid adding wheels, moving it about are setting the stage for a fall.
Second, I am convinced that movement will cause the legs to loosen up, leaving you with a shaky table. Drilling into them, combined with movement, will cause the legs to split.
If you simply must make it portable, attach the wheels to an angle-iron frame, and set the table in the frame. To keep the height, you'll have to trim the legs. If you can remove the legs easily, perhaps you can make a cart - and set just the top on the cart.
The cart approach has another advantage ... it gives you something to grab when you want to move the table.
Carrying the idea one step further ... there are a number of industrial carts made, that have substantial wood working surfaces on top, as well as drawers, etc.
RosaSharon
Any wheel you use will have a smaller contact area than what you have now.. I suspect Glides are the best answer given all the factors.
Retro fitting proper wheels would require really large diameter wheels in order not to dent the underlying floor with the smaller contact area that a typical caster wheel would have. ...
If you do really want wheels then large diameter wooden ones are the only wheels that wouldn't look goofy. That will require some reengineering of the table to have them work well. the front two wheels should caster. The back two wheels should have a locking system/brakes..
The spokes on those wheels will have to be really beefy in order to take the blows from meat clevers and other such brutal kitchen tools..
spokes?
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